Question

A custodian plans to repaint some classrooms. He has 5 = gallons of paint. All of

the bookcases are the same size and each requires 2 gallons of paint. How many
bookcases will he be able to repaint with that amount of paint? Show your work...

Answer 1

Answer: 2 bookcases.

Explanation:

Let be "x" the number of bookcases that the custodian will be able to repaint completly with 5 gallons of paint.

According to the data given, the custodian needs 2 gallons of paint to repaint one bookcase. Since all the bookcases are equal, you can set up the following proportion:

`(2)/(1)=(5)/(x)`

Now you must solve for "x" in order to find its value:

`(x)((2)/(1))=5\\\\2x=5\\\\x=(5)/(2)\\\\x=2.5`

Notice that the custodian will be able to repaint 2 bookcases completely, then you can say that:

`x\approx2`